


Why?

by OddlyKia



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Angst, Death, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-09
Updated: 2014-09-09
Packaged: 2018-02-16 19:39:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2282109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OddlyKia/pseuds/OddlyKia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You regret leaving the prison to help with the supply run. Would one walker bit really end your life?</p><p>[Carl Grimes x Reader]</p>
            </blockquote>





	Why?

Why? Why did you ask to go along on a supply run?

Was it because you felt trapped being within the prison walls day after day, or was it because you wanted to prove that you were just as strong as any other adult in the group? You don't really remember anymore, and to be honest, you don't really care either. All you could focus on was the fresh bite mark on your arm. You stared down at it in horror, like it was a hideous creature coming to attack you. The world stopped, all movement slowed down, sounds were dead silent, and you couldn't feel yourself breathing. All you could ask was why? Why did this happen to you? 

"-ome o-"

The world started to play once more. The slow figures around you moved at a normal pace and you realized that Carl was in from of you. He looked scared and confused by your slow reaction. Walkers were coming and you weren't retreating like the group had ordered. 

"Come on! Run!" He shouted and grabbed your hand, pulling you along after him as he sprinted away. 

As you run away, you look back at the walker that had bitten you just seconds ago. The walker that had just given you a death sentence, was now on the ground with a bullet in her head and soon got lost in he crowd of walkers that were coming after you and your group. She had come out of nowhere and given you no time to fight back; she managed bite you before you were able to put her down. You actually didn't notice that she had bitten you until you looked down at your arm and saw the small trace of blood coming from the wound. The adrenaline had thankfully blocked out the pain of the walkers teeth piercing your flesh. At least she didn't take a chuck out if your arm; it was just a bite mark. 

Daryl hopped onto his motorcycle as Glenn and Maggie got into the driver and passenger seats of the car. You were quickly ushered into the backseat by Carl. He shot down a walker before climbing in as well and telling Glenn to drive, to which the Asian man did. You scooted over to the far seat and rolled down your sleeve so that the bite mark was covered up; you didn't want to look at the ugly thing.

"That was a close one," Carl said as he wiped the sweat off his forehead.

"Yeah, it was. But at least we got the supplies we needed, right?" Glenn replied. He looked into the review mirror and smiled at you. 

You weakly nodded and looked down to your feet. This wasn't good. This wasn't good. Dear god, this wasn't good. 

The drive back to the prison was quiet. At least it was for you. You added no comment to their conversation. All you could think about was…what was going to happen to you? Were they going to kill you the second they found out? Or would they kick you out of the prison? You couldn't keep the bite hidden from them. No, you had to tell them as soon as you reached the prison. And because of that, you're heart was pounding in your chest and your stomach was in a tight knot. Oh god. Why did this have to happen? You should have never left the prison; you should have just stayed and learned how to care for the crops like Hershel suggested. But no...You had to go out. 

The car pulled to a stop and you snapped out of your fear induced thoughts. Oh no, you had already arrived at the prison. You noticed that everyone had already exited the car, so you do the same. And slowly, trailing a few feet behind, you follow the small group into the main court of the prison where Rick, Hershel, Michonne, and several other people greeted the five of you back. With each step towards the other group, your heart rate only increased by the fear that ran through your veins. It felt like your heart was going to burst through your chest, or at least suddenly stop from over working it. 

Hugs were exchange by Maggie, Beth, and Hershel, as Daryl, Carol, and Michonne talked about the success of the trip, while Rick told Carl what chores needed to be done around the prison. You would've been listening to Rick's chore list, seeing as you and Carl do a good portion of them together. But you were too lost in the fear that surrounds you. You had to tell them; you couldn't hide what had happened to you forever. You only endangered their lives even more by not telling them.

Glenn took notice of your silence rather quickly. He walked over to you and gently patted your back, a smile was on his face as he said, "You okay, kiddo?" 

No. No, you were not okay. You were bitten and soon you would turn into the very thing you had been fighting against to stay alive. But when you don't answer, Glenn got a bit worried. He always worried about the most, so did Carl. Hell, there were days where Carl wouldn't let you out of his sight because he was too worried about something happening to you. Well, something finally did happen. 

You lifted your injured arm up and held it against your chest. A childish fear kicked in that if they touched you or the wound that they would automatically get infected as well. So you jerked away from Glenn's touch and shook your head. "N-no..." you weakly said. "I'm not."

Your interaction with Glenn caught the attention of everyone else present. They looked at you with worry. 

"What's wrong?" Carl asked. 

“I-I-I.” Tears started to form and stung your eyes. You had to tell them now; you couldn’t wait any longer. “I was bit. A walker bit me!”

You broke out into full on crying as absolute looks of horror appeared on everyone’s faces, some gasped in horror while most of the people took a step back away from you. That only freaked you out more. You had been around these people long enough to know what their instincts were telling them to do. From the corner of your eye, you saw that Tyreese and Sasha were reaching for their guns. That only made you sob even harder than before. But before something could happen, Hershel, like the calm and collected man he was, spoke up.

“Now, now, let’s not do anything irrational.” He stepped forward and held his hand out. “[Name], please let me see the bite.”

Your crying died down just a bit, but you didn’t show Hershel the bite.

“[Name], please. I just want to see how bad it is. You can trust me,” he added.

“It’ll be okay.” Carl stepped up and placed a hand on your back. “Just let him see it.”

You take a stuttered deep breath and reach your arm out to Hershel. He carefully rolled up your sleeve to reveal the ugly and still bloody bite mark. Several of the veins near the bite were discolored and more visible than the other ones higher up on your arm. And when Hershel touched an area near the injury, you cried out in pain and quickly retracted your arm.

“Hershel?” Rick finally spoke.

The old man nodded and the air suddenly changed; it was darker and colder. Rick readjusted his weight from leg to another a few times and then ran his hand across his chin, an obvious sign that he was frustrated and unsure of what to do. He was the leader and he had to make a decision. But the way you saw it, there were only to options, one, to kill you before you turn, or two, to drop you off somewhere and leave you to your death. Either way, you didn’t like how the future was looking.

“How did this happen?” Rick asked.

“She came out of nowhere, I swear. I turned the corner and there she was. It happened way too fast for me to do anything. I-I’m sorry.”

Rick bent down to your height and took your hands into his. “You’re not in trouble, okay? We just…we just have to figure out what do to. Why don’t you go inside and wait at the tables.”

You nodded and sniffed.

“I’ll take her,” Beth sweetly said. She held out her hand and you slowly took it.

You knew that they were trying to act normal and not freak you out any further. It was sweet, but you knew the truth. You were going to die. And once you and Beth were inside, the group wasted no time talking. Who knew when you could turn?

“What are we going to do?” Glenn ran a hand through his messy hair.

“She’s bit. That’s it. There is nothing we can do; she is going to die. And we only have a few options,” Tyreese hissed out.

“She’s a little girl. Are you going to be the one who puts a bullet in her head?” Michonne said. “Because I’m not going to.”

Daryl nodded in agreement. Sure, he had killed dozens of people. But he wasn’t going to kill a scare little kid that he had worked so hard to protect. He wasn’t going to kill his friend.

“I can’t do it.” Maggie flat out said. “I can’t kill that sweet, little girl.”

“I’m with Maggie,” Glenn added.

“None use can do it,” Carol looked around the group and crossed her arms. “We can kill strangers, but not our own.”

“And I won’t let you kill her.” Carl finally stepped up and joined the discussion. “She’s scared and I won’t let you hurt her. What if she doesn’t turn? What if she’s lucky and she survives?”

“Carl, that doesn’t happen,” Rick sighed. He was the leader; he needed to make decision now!

“You try to hurt her and I’ll stop you,” his son snapped back.

The whole group looked to Rick for his final say. The old sheriff took another glance at his son before making the call.

“We’ll put her in a free cell and wait. We can’t kill her, but we can’t just kick her out. We’re not like that.”

The group nods and together they enter into the prison, and into the area that you and Beth were in. You sat quietly across the table as Beth held Judith.

“[Name], come with me.” Rick waved you over and you wordless complied with his orders. “We’ve decided on what to do. For now, we’re going to lock you in one of the cells and see what happens. Okay?”

You nodded and followed after Rick. The rest of the group joined Beth at the table, they all wore looks of despise and sadness. They couldn’t bring themselves to kill you, but they couldn’t let you turn into one of those things outside of the prison gate.

Rick and you reached the cell, and in total silence, you stepped in and heard the door lock with a ‘clink’.

“We’ll check on you in a little bit.”

You heard the sound of Rick’s shoes as he walked away down the hall. He was probably going back to the group to talk about the situation you had landed them in. Sure, Rick assured you that this wasn’t your fault, but it sure did feel like it was. None of this would have happened if you had only stayed at the prison. With a deep sigh, you sat down on the lumpy bed and start to cry again. The bite started to ache and you just cried even more. This was it. This was how you were going to die.

And so, you watched as the sunset and darkness slowly take over the cell. Hours passed and you were left alone to your fear. No one came by to see you, to see how you were doing or how you were feeling. But of course, you were on death row. Why would anyone want to see a dying prisoner?

As time passed, the bite mark only got worse. The skin on and around the injury turned red like a rash. And more of the veins start to discolor. The infection was spreading and it was spreading quickly. But the worst was the flu like symptoms that finally hit you. You felt sick. You started to run a fever then have severe body aches and chills, and several times you had coughed up blood. Slowly, your energy drained from your body to the point that struggled to move your head. And pretty soon, you could no long move a finger. So you used every last bit of energy to lay yourself right by the cell door, so even when you do die, you’ll be able to watch one last sunrise or sunset.

“[Name].” Carl suddenly appeared at the cell door. When he saw the state you were in, he dropped to his knees and pulled the sheriffs hat off his head. “How are you feeling?”

“Dying…” Was you could manage out.

“Stay strong. You’ll be just fine.”

You looked up to see him crying, just like you. He was the only once to come and see you. And you were…happy about that. Now that when you die, he’ll be the last person you ever saw.

“I’m sorry,” you whisper.

Carl reached in through the bars and placed his hand on top of yours. “It’ll be okay, just close your eyes and get some sleep. When you wake up, we’ll do something fun together.” The young boy copied your actions and laid down on the floor outside your cell, his hand intertwined with yours.

What a beautiful lie. There would be no ‘when you wake up’. As soon as you closed your eyes, you would die. And right after that, someone from the group would be forced to put a bullet in your brain before you turned in a walker.

But to humor Carl, you smiled and said, “Okay. That sounds good. Goodnight, Carl. Will you lay with me until I fall asleep?”

“Of course I will. Goodnight, [Name].”


End file.
